Your bodyweight isn’t everything.
So many women are fixated on the numbers on the scales, but I look at it a different way.
I don’t go off what the scales say; I go off how I look and how I feel.
Last week my body fat dropped but my body weight actually went up – it’s something we monitor every week to ensure I’m progressing.
My trainer Mark wasn’t concerned though because he said it could be a mixture of things. It could be because the weather has been warmer that I’m carrying more water; the fact that I could have eaten more salt in my meals which stores water; or even where you are in your cycle as a female your body can hold more water.
But the number on the scales doesn’t bother me – my aim isn’t necessarily to lose weight but just to get as strong as possible and be the best version of myself that I can be.
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As long as my body fat is dropping and I’m feeling strong, then that’s what I’m going on really as opposed to the scales dropping.
The lightest I’ve ever been was 10 st 2 lbs and that was before I started weight training when I just did loads of cardio and nothing else.
I was that weight, but I didn’t feel strong; I was lethargic, I was tired, I didn’t feel I was eating right.
It’s only since weight training that the scales have gone up, but my body’s become a lot leaner and there’s a lot more shape to it; my bum’s got bigger too (in a good way).
For me, the weight thing I don’t really look at it; I go off how my clothes feel and how my energy levels are rather than the number on the scales.
I could get a lot lighter and get down to 10 stone again, but the reality is that I wouldn’t be as healthy as I should be.
I wouldn’t be enjoying my food like I could be and my social life wouldn’t be like it is, and for me to sit at that weight when I’m 5ft 9ins with broad shoulders, I’d be miserable.
I would rather carry the extra weight that is maintainable for me and more natural for me to do and just feel healthy really.
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I think the number on the scales nowadays, women look too much into it and it’s daft.
I’m 5ft 9ins, so for me, 70kg (11st) is a good weight for me to be at. I know if I go much above that I’ve probably pigged out a little bit, if I go under that I’ve probably been a bit ill, not eaten right or looked after myself properly.
So I just go on my energy levels and how my clothes feel on me.
It’s a far more sustainable way of looking at things. When you’re training it’s tough and it’s hard, but long term you want to enjoy your life and feel good and there’s more to life than hitting a number on the scales.
As long as you’re healthy and you feel good about yourself, then I don’t think it matters what that number says on the scales.
So it was great to see that my body fat had dropped again at the end of this week (Week 5) – this shows I’m still progressing and I’m still getting stronger.
I’ve just 40kg on the barbell on split squats and I did that for four sets whereas when I started I could only do 20kg. So I’ve doubled my strength on that in five weeks and it’s a really good feeling.
I feel proud of myself for that.
My confidence has got a lot better outside of the gym, because of how I feel and what I do in the gym. I leave here feeling quite strong.
The other day I was parked on Level 14 of a car park and I thought ‘You know what, I’ve got strong legs, I’m going to use the stairs.’ So I did, and I felt amazing.
My body confidence has improved too. I’m now putting on clothes and feeling good in them.
I just feel like myself again. I got stuck in a rut with training and it was like an endless treadmill of just working and plodding in the gym.
But this has really given me the kick up the backside that I needed.
My skin is starting to get better and I’m starting to sleep a lot better and it is literally all because of the 45 minutes I spend in the gym each day. That’s literally all it is.
